Profile: Castro had an unspectacular rookie season for Houston. Despite that, he's pretty much guaranteed the starting backstop gig in 2011 with little depth behind him. With a BABIP of just .250 -- which is low for even a catcher -- there should be a fair bit of room for him to improve upon his .205 batting average with a simple reversal of fortunes. As it stands right now, Houston will be trotting out a putrid offensive lineup; the most potent bats belong to the aging Carlos Lee and inconsistent Hunter Pence. Castro will likely hit in the bottom third of the lineup and should not see many run-producing opportunities. Castro did produce some good minor-league numbers, so he has the potential to be an above-average offensive catcher. It's just not going to happen in 2011 so don't bid more than $1 for him. (Marc Hulet)

The Quick Opinion: Houston's home park favors hitters but don't count on Castro for 2011. His greatest fantasy value will come in keeper leagues with an eye to 2012 and beyond.

Profile: After a terrible showing in 2010 and losing 2011 to injury, Jason Castro showed signs of being a valuable fantasy catcher in 2012. His defense is quite poor, but that should not matter to fantasy owners. Moreover, the Astros do not have anyone at the moment who could threaten Castro's playing time in 2013. That is not to say that he is about to threaten Buster Posey's place among National League catchers -- far from it. However, he looks like he could be a league-average hitter, which would make him a very good hitter relative to his position, indeed. Castro has always been patient, and while his strikeout rate is worse than average, it is not exceptionally bad. What really helped his offense in 2012 was driving the ball better -- both for hits and for extra bases. Again, these are not superstar level abilities, and while there is some upside for a 26-year-old, it is not excessive. However, if he can stay healthy and play 120 or more games in 2013, he might hit 10 home runs and put up a .260/.340/.400 line, which would be just fine for a National League catcher. He will not carry your team, but he will not kill it, either, and he might be enough of a bargain in auction leagues to allow you to spend elsewhere. (Matt Klaassen)

The Quick Opinion: Jason Castro is never going to erase memories of Johnny Bench, but in 2012 he showed he could be a pretty decent hitter for a catcher. He could be an acceptable mid-to-low range starter in NL-only leagues or a second starter in mixed leagues that use a second catcher.

Profile: Jason Castro finally arrived. After fits and spurts over the span of five seasons, featuring promise, injury, and disappointment, it all came together in 2013. His .276/.350/.485 slash line with 18 home runs in just shy of 500 plate appearances lives up to the hype of this former first round draft pick. His .351 batting average on balls in play might seem high, but Castro's batted ball substantiates it with a 25% line drive rate, leading to an expected BABIP of .359. His contact rate of 72.1% isn't particularly thrilling nor is his 12.4% swinging strike rate, so despite his batted ball profile, one would have to figure his batting average might slip a bit going forward. But Castro should still be good for an average north of .250, 15-20 home runs, and probably something in the range of 70-80 runs and RBI. He might even steal a bag. That makes for a pretty good catcher in fantasy circles, but now that Castro has stepped out from behind the shadows, you'll have to pay for his services. (Michael Barr)

The Quick Opinion: Jason Castro enjoyed a breakout season in 2013, hitting .276/.350/.485 with 18 home runs, good for fourth-best catcher in all of baseball by way of wins above replacement. Castro turns 27 in June, and there's not much to suggest regression in his future. No longer a secret, you'll have to pay a good sum for Castro on your fantasy squad, but he should be worth it.

Profile: Castro took a big step backward in 2014 statistically, and the projections will likely view his breakout 2013 as the outlier. He looked out of sorts for most of this season, but he still showed off the swing improvements he made before 2013 in stretches. He likely won't return to 2013 levels in the batting average department, since an elite batting average on balls in play is not a given for him. The scary strikeout rate he had can be contributed to making changes to his swing on the fly, and regression back to his career norm should be expected. Look for him to split the difference between his best and worst seasons, batting .250-.260 with 15-20 homers and a better walk rate, with some upside if he gets his swing locked in before the season. (Dan Farnsworth)

The Quick Opinion: Not as good as his 2013 numbers, but not as bad as 2014 -- look for Castro to beat his projections as 2013 was not just a fluke. He's a better hitter than he was in the minors, and he will show flashes of that again this year.

Profile: Castro was a trendy sleeper for a power breakout in 2013, and he delivered with 18 home runs. His followup campaign was a moderate disappointment, and 2015 was even worse. He hit just .211 as his strikeout rate climbed, and he just doesn't profile as someone likely to hit .276 again, or even .250 safely. What Castro's profile still includes, though, is pop -- he hit 11 home runs in 375 plate appearances, hit an above average percentage of line drives and fly balls, and made soft contact nearly half as frequently as the rest of the league. There's drive in his swing, and given meaningful playing time, he could approach 15 home runs again, which makes him AL-only or two-catcher relevant. The biggest threat to his value is Max Stassi, the Astros' catching prospect who will be 25 when the season opens. The team would probably love for Stassi to run with the job, but he's coming off of back-to-back middling performances at Triple-A, and if the Astros are going to compete again, Castro should be the guy. (Blake Murphy)

The Quick Opinion: Jason Castro continued declining on the surface in 2015, but there remains a decent underlying power profile. If he beats out Max Stassi for the Astros' starting gig, his pop keeps him on the deeper format radar.

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